Manic Expression

Hello and welcome to In Too Deep, where I over-analyse a certain section of pop culture.

Batman villains have been based on a variety of gimmicks. Riddles, Cats, Alice in Wonderland, the Number 2. They're pretty bad ideas to base characters on. But I bet I could think of some even more worst ones; and explain why the supervillains would just be rubbish.

6)Twelve-sided die: Now we know that Two-Face's gimmick is that he sees the world as very black/white. He sees that everything comes down to luck. Now imagine the same thing, only with twelve possibilities. That would be pretty difficult. If it lands on 1, you kill Batman. If it lands on 2, you let him free. If it lands on 7, you go for lunch and kill him later. If it lands on 12, you do a tap dance routine to the tune of Britney Spears “Baby One More Time”. Do you see how difficult this quickly becomes? You have to come up with 12 options to use at any given situation. By the time you've explained them all Batman has not only escape the death trap but beaten the ever-loving snot out of you. So don't make a twelve-sided die your gimmick.

5)Caveman: Another good idea when it comes to being a supervillain is looking back into the past and plucking out something that works for you. Maxie Zeus made it work by taking the name and concept of, well, figure it out for yourself. But there's a point where you want to stop going back. Namely around the caveman period. Sure the supervillain Ug may be a master with the club. He may be deadly. But he's pretty useless when going up against a batarang or a gun. So while we can learn from history, we shouldn't try to repeat it.

4)Ponies: Specifically, My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic. Now in the show the ponies are awesome, capable of doing things that are exactly 20% more awesome then other equestrian-based characters. But I really doubt that dressing up as a colourful pony is going to be very effective against the Batman. Yes Joker managed it, but the Joker is terrifying. There is nothing remotely terrifying about a pony (well, except Pinkie Pie. But she's the exception). So whatever you do, don't try to make ponies threatening. It's just gonna end badly.

3)Antelope: Killer Croc is deadly. Killer Moth is... in Lego Batman games. But Killer Antelope? Seriously? Okay yes you have horns on your head in the style of Loki, but you run into the same problem that Ug ran into. Namely you will just be shot or have a batarang knock you out. That'd be it. You would be pretty bloody useless since all your attacks require you to get up close; and Batman can easily keep away from you. So no, Antelopes are not scary. They just aren't.

(Side note: Killer Moth? Bats eat moths. Why did he think that it was such a foolproof gimmick?)

2)Fruit: Poison Ivy has the ability to command plants and get them to do her bidding. That's a pretty awesome power that covers quite a lot of things. But if your ability is to dress up like a banana and attack Batman with maracas, then it's time to go back to the drawing board. Or throw exploding fruit at him. Even if you're deadly, it's fruit. Fruit has never been seen as threatening or evil. Plus bats eat fruit. It's gotta be the worst idea ever. Second to one even worst.

1)Lady Gaga: Lets not beat around the bush: Lady Gaga is a supervillain. Look at what she wears, she's clearly stepped out of a comic book (or a more adult-orientated 60s kids show). She is clearly crazy. She has an army of loyal minions that she calls her monsters. So why am I saying she's the worst gimmick to be based on? Because she's already a supervillain. You can't rip off other people's gimmicks. That's just lame. And no, I didn't just write this blog to point out that Lady Gaga is a supervillain and must be stopped at all costs. That's only part of the reason. But don't blame me when she's ruling the world.

So there you have it. What not to do if you decided to become a supervillain in a Batman comic. If you disagree with anything, or have anything to add, feel free to leave a comment. Till next time.